LOWER CAPE OUTREACH COUNCIL Winter 2023
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As we finish up the holiday festivities, pack away the decorations and look forward to the promise of the New Year, we at LCOC are taking a minute to reflect on all that 2022 had to offer and most importantly, recognizing and thanking all our dedicated volunteers. These individuals are the heart and soul of our organization, and we would not be able to serve so many Lower and Outer Cape residents without their endless time and support. It is their time and the |
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generosity of the local community that enables us to help so many of our neighbors this season and for the years to come.
In 2023, our goal is to highlight all of the volunteer roles here at LCOC. To that end, each Newsletter will include an article written by one of our volunteers in the various roles they serve. This edition of Reach Out! will highlight our volunteer Advocates who administer our Financial Assistance program along with our Manager of Client Services, Andy O’Dell, LCSW.
All year round our volunteers are the first point of contact for our clients either on the phone or as they walk through our door. They organize and distribute countless items from our free clothing and resource center. They stock, pack and deliver food through our nine emergency pantries and support clients with our financial assistance programs. During the holidays several of our regular volunteers and many others help us with our New Coat distribution, Thanksgiving Turkey distribution, Chatham Turkey Trot 5K, and Santa Stop, our holiday toy distribution. With their help all of these programs were a success this year and are summarized below.
From all of us at LCOC, we want to thank each and every individual who supports our mission and our clients. We wish you all a Happy New Year and look forward to continuing to work beside you in 2023.
Best Wishes,
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Katie Wibby, Esq.
Chief Executive Officer
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399 children received toys, books, games, and gift cards this year at our annual Santa Stop event. This event was primary managed by an amazing team of volunteers who were once again lead by Ellen Ehrhart and of course Elfie who arrived every day to spread the holiday cheer. |
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Thanksgiving Distribution |
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547 local families were assisted with their Thanksgiving meal this year. We would not have been able to pull off this feat without all our wonderful volunteers. These volunteers packed boxes, picked up produce and distributed it all to our grateful clients. The distribution days were full of clients who shared stories, tears, and laughter and we enjoyed every minute! |
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This year the Chatham 5K Turkey Trot returned, after two virtual years, to an in-person race on Thanksgiving morning and it was a huge success. The race drew 2,271 registrations and grossed over $100,000! LCOC would like to again take this opportunity to thank the original founders of the race, Linda Redding, Mary Parsons, and the rest of the Chatham Turkey Trot Board for their hard work over the years. We would also like to thank all of the race sponsors, raffle donations, Chatham Police Department and the community as a whole for all of the support this year! |
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New Board Member: Scott Kerry |
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LCOC is excited to introduce our newest Board Member who is no stranger to the Lower and Outer Cape, Scott Kerry, of Kerry Insurance in Eastham. Scott is a life-long Cape resident with years of experience working with non-profits and we are happy to welcome him to the Board this year. |
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We are so grateful for all of our community partners who make our mission a reality and worked to help make our seasonal programs a success. Some partners we would like to highlight for their work this season include:
- St. Vincent De Paul Orleans from the St. Joan of Arc who donated over $12,000 of Stop & Shop gift cards;
- Eastham Fire Department, led by Lieutenant Laytin Reis, who organized their first Homeless for the Holidays;
- Brewster Fire Department who collected monetary donations;
- Chatham Fire Department for collecting Toys and canned goods;
- The Brewster Baptist Church donated over $13,000 raised at their Holiday Fair and Auction;
- The Farm in Orleans for the Turkey Drive and Christmas Trees and Wreaths at Santa Stop;
- Fancy Produce who provides all the produce for our Thanksgiving meals and partners with us throughout the year;
- Cape Cod Five Cents Bank for their annual Holiday Toy collection;
- The Angel Fund who provided Bikes for our Santa Stop events;
- The Orleans Yacht Club for collection gift Cards for Santa Stop;
- Nauset Newcomers who collected food gift cards and donations for our Thanksgiving Turkey Distribution;
- The Village Toy Store in Brewster who matches all donations for Santa Stop.
- Agway of Cape Cod for raising donations at all of their stores this season;
- Snow’s Fuel Company for organizing the Fuel Up Cape Cod fundraising campaign to raise money for heating fuel;
- Baskin’s Ace Hardware for their key cutting promotion to raise funds for our programs; and
- Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre (W.H.A.T.) for continuing their annual Yule for Fuel event to raise money for heating fuel.
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When clients call LCOC or walk into the office with needs, the front office staffer takes down their information and it is then passed on to an Advocate who reaches out to the client that same day to learn more about their need or needs. Advocates are assigned to clients in two ways. First, the “advocate of the day” returns calls to all new clients. Second, with returning clients, they are generally matched up again with the advocate who first assisted them – to provide continuity and a deeper understanding of the client’s background and overall needs. The advocates sign up to serve as an “advocate of the day” anywhere from two to five days per month. There are currently nine advocates who serve our clients.
Advocates are trained to assist clients with a broad range of needs including financial assistance with rent, mortgage, utilities, transportation, auto repair and insurance, gasoline, and more. Advocates also assist clients by referring them to other agencies who specialize in different fields such as, free legal services, childcare, mental health services, medical/dental services, and more. Through training, advocates learn about other organizations that can also provide financial assistance. Advocates frequently reach out to these organizations to partner to manage costs that LCOC cannot cover in full. This cooperative relationship allows us to meet the client’s full need. Some of these agencies include The Fleet Fund, Dexter Keezer, Saint Vincent de Paul Societies, Caleb Chase Fund, and many more.
Advocates meet once per month under the leadership of Andy O’Dell, LCOC’s licensed social worker. He keeps the advocates up to date with new information about services, and often brings representatives from other agencies to come and speak about the mission of their organization, and how they and LCOC can work together to meet clients’ needs. At these meetings, advocates also share experiences to learn from one another. Advocates learn about the importance of active listening and compassion when talking with clients over the phone. Oftentimes being a good listener is as important as providing the financial assistance.
Susan Carlson,
Board of Directors Secretary and Volunteer Advocate
If you are interested in learning more or becoming an Advocate, contact Karen Ross at karenr@lcoutreach.org
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